latinegro

2016 Goals

I’ve finally had time to mull over all the goals I want to set for this coming year. I don’t like resolutions because they lead to a false sense of ambition. That is why so many people flood to the gym in January only to give up by March. My goals are achievable and some are harder than the others but they are promises I make to myself.

As usual, I looked at the past year and noticed that I’ve achieved 60% of the goals I’ve set last year, which always seems to be the case. This is not something that I set out to do. Life has a way of making us veer off course, but in any case, here we go…

I feel like I’ve been really slacking in my blog writing. I know that anyone would tell me that writing a second book as well as a bunch of short stories is understandable but the past few days has shown me that I simply need to blog more. Not just here, but on the Huffington Post and The Commons. It gives me a little more focus on what it is I do. Even after all these years, I still feel like I’m building more of an audience which I hope will lead me to getting a press pass at the NY Comic Con.

I also need to be mindful that I have indeed set a tentative date for the release of The Book of Isabel. I really need to make sure that I make that date. It may sound simple enough but there’s so much coordination in getting this book out that I want to make sure I don’t repeat the mistakes I made with Hanging Upside Down. While doing that, I want to take the plunge into the short story world and actually try to get some of my work published. I’m not exactly sure all the details but I did open up a Wattpad account so I can begin exploring that process.

All this writing makes me want to continue to work my craft. I don’t take any of this lightly and I feel that I can get better at it. This is why I will continue to make an effort to read more. I’ve read more in 2015 than I have in quite a long time. I’ve also gotten into audio books which helps me catch up on books I should’ve read a long time ago. Of course more reading leads to more writing and I also feel I need to do a better job at really getting into writing workshops. I would be a fool to think that I cannot improve.

The other thing that I’ve done more is travel. Seeing the world is essential to any writer. Seeing more of America is crucial to any American writer and while I do plan on traveling in 2016, the goal is to visit more sporting stadiums or arenas. I will keep it real, I would much rather to the baseball stadium thing but, I will include football and basketball just in case I travel to a place off season. There is something about seeing how other city’s celebrate their sport that I find interesting.

Switching gears, I’m quite sure that I’ve made it quite clear that I’ve changed my dietary habits. I’ve been a pescatarian for about 6 months now and I don’t plan on changing that but it does lead me to think about my health in general. I’m not getting any younger and I know that I need to start taking better care of myself. I’m already scheduled for oral surgery in January and I know I need to see my doctor for the routine check ups. For some reason I feel that I need to put my medical well being into the forefront.

Every year I put debt reduction to the list an every year it remains there. I suppose this is a long term goal that will remain on this list for the foreseeable future. Which brings me to the last item on my list. As my girlfriend prepares to graduate from business school there is a distinct possibility that I will be moving out of Harlem. Not sure where to yet, but I have some ideas.

I think 2016 will be another big year. I hope you set some pretty big goals and I thank you for indulging me to share mine with you.

Novel, writing

The Little Things

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Editing of The Book of Isabel has taken more of a priority as 2016 gets closer. The little things are becoming more important. There are things that don’t seem uniquely important by itself but become huge when you put it all together. There are things that have to get done now so that I wont have to do them later.

I always talk about how it is to be a self published author in terms of the mild successes and the pitfalls, but I’m not sure I’ve really gotten into the little things. What I mean about these little things, I’m talking about things that are not ultimately related to the act of writing the text in the novel. These things include but are not limited to the book synopsis, the dedication, and the head shots. The difference between where I was the last time I wrote a book and now, is experience.

In 2014, I felt that I rushed through everything. I rushed through the editing process. I had no real head shots and had no real idea on how to describe Hanging Upside Down. Much of everything I’ve done leading up to the book coming out seemed to be on the fly. As much as I loved the way things happened, I feel like I could’ve done so much better with time and planning.

The cover for the new book is 95% done. Draft two is about 60% done. What keeps me ahead of the game is that I now know what I’m doing when it comes to creating book pages and descriptions. These are the little things that most authors who have agents and book deals don’t have to consider.

This has also led me to think about things I need to consider when it comes to book promotion. I feel like I’ve done a decent job at creating my own marketing and my own buzz but now I have to take things a step further. I’ve been told that I will need to really consider putting more of my work out there. I need to start looking at getting officially published.

I will be hard work and I may start out with short stories. I need to try because it is the little things that will make the difference.

Friendship, my life, relationships

Navigating People

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This is the last week of this year and I find myself wrapping up somethings before the year closes. While, I haven’t laid out my goals for 2016 as of yet, I’m still very much thinking about them. I currently have more time to write some blogs and I wanted to free write.

It’s been an interesting year indeed. I could get into all of the societal and political trash that has occurred but this one is about me. This year has been a year where I had to really figure out my place when it come to people.

I feel like I navigate people everyday. I navigate my family, my friends, and co-workers. I also navigate my twitter peoples, blerds, fellow writers, and trolls. Through this, I makes me wonder what I actually do each day. How did I get where I am now with all this human navigation?

I feel that this year has put into perspective that most friendships are not as archetypal as we think. In fact, in the grand scheme of things, friendships can be fleeting. No matter how much navigation can be done, all relationships are more or less the same. People love each other and they trust each other until they don’t.

Life goes on and new relationships are made and voids are filled. We spend so much time thinking about how we ever had those voids in the first place. The navigation of nouns (persons, places, and things) continues like it never ended as it was a ripple in water only disturbed by a stone of a broken connection.

I think back to a passage from my own book (which I try not to quote myself due to this being a bit self serving):

Everyone in our lives is there for a reason, regardless of the length of time. No matter if they love us or hate us, no matter if they break our hearts or simply hold open the door. I really believe things happen for a reason. I can’t say I believe in fate, but rather I believe that we all play a role in each other’s lives. It’s up to us to decide what that role is.

Fleeting relationships is what life is about. If you have old friends cherish them.

Facebook, Novel, writing

700 Likes

What does that even mean?

So recently I found myself with more than 700 likes on my Facebook page and I wonder how good that is. How many like translate to success? I’m not one to believe that because I have a certain amount of Facebook likes or Twitter followers that I’m a famous or a successful person. However, it may mean that I know a thing or two about interacting with an audience which may mean a little more.

I do see this as way for me to get my name out there but I also feel that it isn’t enough and that perhaps I’m doing something wrong. The question that I immediately ask myself is how does all these likes and followers translate into new readers? This is something I still have trouble answering.

This year I realized that it didn’t matter. None of the likes or followers matter because at the end of the day, I’m still a new author with one book. Of course, this may end up changing as time goes on but as for right now, each new follower has to get acquainted with me. Each new like is a vote for the foundation of success and each new person is a potential customer.

As I push toward the second book, I start to look at things that worked and didn’t work over the past year. I’ve battled with the idea of just posting nothing but quotes and pictures of Hanging Upside Down on Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook. The problem is I don’t want to be that guy that people think uses social media as a spam platform. I would hate to lose anyone on social media if they felt I was being too commercial.

But here I am with 700 likes. When I made that page I didn’t know what to expect and I supposed I shouldn’t always write about it every time I get 100 more likes but It does make think about how this will play out once The Book of Isabel drops.

Will I sell more? It’s hard to tell.

my life, Star Wars

My Force Awakened.

By now, you’ve either seen it or heard about it. Maybe you’ve even read someone’s review of it. I feel that I need to say a few things. I won’t spoil it for you if you happen to be one of the few people who hasn’t seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens but I will tell you about how I feel about this movie and it’s importance of Finn.

There are tons of things that happen in this movie. I will not spoil anything major but there is one minor spoiler about Finn I will mention towards the end. So, if you haven’t seen it and want to know nothing about anything, then come back when you’ve viewed the flick.

First, I loved this movie on the first viewing. I plan on seeing it again tonight and highly doubt my attitude about it will change. One thing is for sure, this is not your father’s Star Wars. This is also not the Millennial Star Wars either. What we are witnessing a true re-branding of a franchise — a passing of the torch in many respects.

The three heroes are Finn, Rey, and Poe Dameron. They represent the diversity of this cast that is far cry from either trilogy. While black women are still virtually invisible, we finally see an Asian cast member (Ken Leung as Admiral Statura). BB8 represents the improved technology in the galaxy as well as in film making. But more importantly, J J Abrams represents a step forward in direction.

Let’s talk about the obvious, this movie is leaps and bounds better than anything we’ve seen before in terms of cinematography. The angles and shots are completely new. I just imagine myself watching all 7 episodes (which technically I did because I saw all 6 over the weekend) and noticing the stark contrast of visuals. Not to mention that the storm troopers have better aim (they actually hit someone).

The villains were OK. I really wished I got to see more of Captain Phasma. I really wanted to see her lay waste to anyone actually. Kylo Ren is not bad but came across as a Sith child that needs more training and discipline. However, he does some pretty unique things with the force that I love. I’m not sold on Supreme Leader Snoke. I will just hope that the next film lends more to their character development because, after all, this episode was designed to introduce us to the heroes.

As far as our heroes…

Rey is a bad ass. I love her character and her inquisitiveness. She is very talented and knows way around mechanics. Poe Dameran is the best pilot in the galaxy, period. Then there is Finn (minor spoiler time) who is storm trooper who fights against his programming to become something else. The problem that I’ve heard people say is that since he was assigned to the sanitation unit before his first mission he is nothing more than a glorified janitor and that we’ve all been fooled to believe he was going our black Star Wars hero.

Let me address this. There is nothing wrong with being a janitor. There is nothing wrong with working in sanitation. They are honest blue collar jobs that people take pride in and often times get paid decently well. Many of us grew up in a household where our parents had a blue collar jobs. Do we look at them any less because of it?

Finn’s role is important. He is a storm trooper fighting against his programming. Why does that resonate with me? I think that we as people of color fight against programming every day with standards of beauty telling us we are not attractive, or white supremacy telling us we are less then what we are, or patriarchy telling us men are better than women. We fight our programming everyday and yes, most times are first instinct is to run. Finn may not be a Jedi but he is still human.

The Force Awakens is a welcome addition to the Star Wars lore. It may not be better than the Empire Strikes Back but it certain better than the rest.

my life, writing

Fight For Your Dreams

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“Who are you?” That was what I was asked a few days ago by a former student that is still getting used to the person I’ve become. I’m an author and a vegetarian which is vastly different from where I was about 4 years ago. But to answer the question, I am a person who has fought for my dream.

So who was I before that? Was I some person wandering around not knowing what I wanted? Actually, I was that person who didn’t listen to that little voice on the inside. I took life for granted thinking I should just be grateful for what I have and not take risks. I wasn’t willing to change my life because I was afraid I might fail.

I was afraid that I might lose.

Well the thing is, I stand here now saying that I’ve taken risks and that I have won some and I’ve also lost some. Life is about fight and I feel that I’m in that fight everyday. I battle against the toughest opponent I will every face and that is myself. I have expectations and dreams that have become a real part of the goals that I set for myself. Every year I have risen the bar higher, sometimes I make it and sometimes I don’t.

I saw Creed this weekend and it really took me back to a time when I believed that anything is possible if you work hard for it. I may talk a good game about goals and how I’ve accomplished a lot of what I wanted, but the reality is that I find myself feeling a little disappointed about not doing enough. Am I not writing enough? Am I not marketing enough? What am I fighting?

I’m fighting this idea that my first plunge into the literary world is not as successful as I thought. Yet, I’m not sure what I thought would happen. Perhaps I thought I would sell more books. Maybe I thought I would have more meaningful interactions where people actually believe I wrote something longer than a blog post. Whatever the case may be, I realize that this is all in my head because I’m my biggest critic.

Creed reminded me of the fact is that I still put myself out there and I continue to take on the brutal writing schedule where I don’t sleep because I need to prove to myself that I can do this. There is this need for me to do all this on my own with help from a select few people that I’m privileged enough to call a team. I could win or lose, but I get nothing if I don’t but my hat in the ring. So yeah, I was a bit hyped when Adonis Creed did his work outs and ran through the streets of Philadelphia because I understand that passion and the need to achieve that one goal.

I fight for my dreams because no one will do it for me. There will always be naysayers and there will always be supporters and I used them both for motivation.

my life, Race/Ethnicity, Racial Profiling, racist, religion

I’m Not Afraid of Muslims

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I’m not afraid of Muslims. Perhaps because I’m not always watching TV. I don’t buy into the news telling me how to think and feel when I can read various reports and decide for myself.

I’m concerned about Islamophobia and how that will play into world events because history, at this point, is destined to repeat itself. Yes, we’ve seen what happens when a group of people are singled out and possibly rounded up.

I’m concerned about mass shootings. No matter what college I’ve worked for, we’ve had to prepare for these. Drills have been designed to help administrators save lives. We are taught to stay in place and lock down our areas. Active shooters are terrorists but you would never know that from the media.

I’m concerned about trigger happy law enforcement. None of that has changed. People of color are still being targeted. Black people, Latinxs, and Native Americans all suffer at a significantly higher rates. What’s happening in Chicago is systemic terrorism. Sure, I can put it another way but most people won’t like that either. Shall I call it corruption then? No. Institutional Racism? Well, that would be every where.

Did you know Transgendered people are also killed at a higher rate as well? Probably not, but I’m sure you can tell me all about your assumptions on Syrian refugees. How about you read up on the war in Syria instead of watching Homeland.

Let’s put it out there. 9/11 was terrible. I was there. I know people who died. It brought this country together so we can start a war for oil and create the Patriot Act. All of which has increased our Islamophobia. With that said, ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) are terrible people that need to be stopped. ISIL does not represent the billions of Muslims across the globe just like these bad cops don’t represent the entire American police force.

So, If you want to be afraid of something… then be afraid of every thing because something is going to kill us right? Climate change maybe? Oh right, that’s not real either. It’s just hotter outside because of El Niño. Just continue eat fast foods and sugary drinks because that wont kill you. Maybe you’re afraid of Ebola… which bring us right back to refugees.

Nope, wait, I got it. Mexicans. That’s what our issue is. We want to build a wall to keep out the Latinxs who clean the houses and pick the fruit. Those dangerous people are rapists because after all, Americans don’t commit heinous crimes like rape…we just shoot people in theaters.

The thing is, fear has a way of making people say and do stupid things like buy guns or vote for racists. Instead of being afraid, you can be concerned and realize that terrorism has always been there and we’ve always lived our lives. You can reject the idea that refugees are a problem and accept that our twisted way of gun life is troubling.

Just understand that if you’re afraid of a random person who (you think) is Muslim and you’re not afraid of the guy who has an open carry permit (with gun strapped to him) then you are part of the problem. Which leads me to my last point, how do you expect me to be so afraid of Syrians and Muslims when we have to deal with mass shootings and rouge police?

No, I’m not afraid of Muslims. I’m concerned about everything else.

my life

I’ve Grown Tired of Nouns

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It’s December already. 2015 is just about over and just like year’s past, I find myself reflecting. While I’ll leave the entirety of reflection for another post, I can’t help but think about my life and how so much has changed this year while putting in perspective where I fit in this crazy world. All I can say is this is the year where I’ve grown tired of nouns (people, places, or things).

How crazy has this year been for me? Well, I won’t get into the whirlwind of being an author because there really isn’t that much to say that hasn’t already been said. I understand my place as a writer. I understand that people will always be surprised that I wrote a book without them being entirely interested in reading it. That’s just the way of the world and it wont stop me from doing what I love to do.

Instead, I will just focus on how I came to fully understand how people are. I’ve learned that friends are not always the friends you thought they were and that strangers can have a bigger impact on your life than people who’ve known you for almost all your life. While I’m not sure how this is possible at times, I do know that we never truly understand our impact on people until that moment it’s pointed out to us.

I’ve come to relearn an old lesson about assumptions. “When you assume, you make an ass out of you and me.” No matter how smart someone is, assumptions will always be their downfall. Of course, I don’t exclude myself from any of this either. As we get older we lead ourselves to believe we’re becoming smarter and wiser; that we know more about humans when actuality we’re just getting better at assuming the worst of people. This type of thinking is what has gotten me into lots of arguments this year.

However, I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned from all the fuckery of this year is that fact that perhaps I gave too many people space in my head. I gave too much thought to those who only wish negative things on other people. I’ve become familiar and quite comfortable with blocking people on social media. Whereas, in the past, I gave people room to voice a particular feeling that may’ve offend me. I now find myself being intolerant of such behaviors. For example, if you feel the need to tell me #BlackLivesMatter is bullshit and you have no real argument, then it’s time for you to get blocked. This usually goes for people who were once “friends” of mine. So I will not allow people to live rent free in my head or any where else for that matter. I consider that to be a way of letting go.

Which leads me to think about where I fit. I gotta say, I don’t really know. I’ve simply grown tired of nouns (people, places, or things). I’ve grown tired of people and their ignorance (i.e. lack of awareness to their privilege). I’ve grown tired of places that promote ignorance. I’ve grown tired of things that people swear they need when they really don’t. I feel like thinking this way puts me in a minority, which I’m quite OK with.

Not sure where this will put me in terms of next year, but what I do know is that I will be traveling more than I did this year, I do know that The Book of Isabel will come out, and I know that 2016 will provide me with new challenges.

Finally, I also know that no matter what happens, I will still be tired of nouns (people, places, or things).

Novel, writing

I Write Everyday #NaNoWriMo

I’m at a point in my life where I have the chance and the opportunity to write as often as I want for as long as I want. It’s something that I feel that I have to do. While that’s not translating into more blogs, it is translating into more text. What started out as something fun has now turned into a possibility of something new and exciting.

I made a goal when I started all of this two years ago. My goal was to have 4 books out by the time I’m 50. Welp, I’m 41 with The Book of Isabel coming out next year and Naked City currently being written it seems that I’m almost 3/4 done. The thing is… I didn’t expect to be this inspired. I didn’t expect the longevity in all this. Sure, I didn’t want to be the guy with just one book but I also didn’t expect to have this much time.

The time I have is based on several things. The fact that I don’t watch as much television as the average American helps. While I do get into certain shows, I tend to watch what I need to and then shut off or mute the TV. Then there’s also the fact the I’m in a long distance relationship at the moment. This gives me more time than I actually want at times but I use this time to the best of my ability. Lastly, my Playstation 3 died in the summer. So I haven’t played video games in a long time. This has become a perfect storm of sorts.

Even with the factor of family and work generally taking up large amounts of my time, I’m able to find little pockets of extra time to think and be creative. However, when someone asked me when do I find time to write, the answer is very basic. I don’t sleep. haha.

Sleep is relative. Most people know that I can be a bit of an insomniac. It’s not hard to find me tweeting something at 2:30am. I try to make use of the time that I have because time is my greatest asset. It’s this time that has allowed me to write 11-14 short stories over the course of 3 weeks. I haven’t completed them all but it will happen before the end of the month.

I’ve already resigned to the fact that I may not reach the 50k word mark that is set for National Novel Writing Month and I’m OK with that. I’ve laid a foundation and to be quite honest these stories are something I can read at events. Since they are new and don’t really connect to a larger story as of yet, people may just hear me read them. Once I’m done with everything I need to do for book two, Naked City will become my priority.

I feel good about everything and all this writing makes me think that I should readjust my goals from 4 books by 50 to 6 books. I may have to sleep on that.

Novel, writing

Naked City #NaNoWriMo

Naked City is the name of my new project and that has nothing to do with fact that it’s like 75 degrees in New York City right now. I started this as a writing project for National Novel Writing Month just to see how far I can go with this.

My idea for this project is to write a collection of short stories. Over the past several years, I’ve written a few but have kept them close. This is now my chance to write new stories and rehash old ones that haven’t seen the light of day. I’m actually excited about this because, to me, it’s not the same as the everyday grind of writing a novel. I can write a story in a chapter’s length at not have to really worry about how I’m setting up the next one.

What Naked City is about a series of situations where different characters show their true nature. I believe we all wear masks that hide our various ulterior motives. Much of the same thing can be said about clothing as well, we tend hide our bodies from people we do not know. This collection goes into situations where character’s show what they are truly about, thus becoming naked in a sense.

For those who don’t know, November is #NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month. While I have unofficially written under this banner in previous years, the stars seem to be aligned for me this year to complete this quest. Which means, I will try to write every day with the goal of reaching 50k in words by the end of the month. While, I’m not entirely sure if I will make that goal, it is the journey that I’m having the most fun with.

So far, I’ve completed 4 stories in 6 days (technically 5, since I started a day late) which I think is pretty good. However, saying something is completed is not actually true when it comes to writing drafts. The reality is that the concepts for 4 stories are completed. Once editing and revising are done then it will be something different. At this point, I just want to see how many stories I can write by the end of the month.

Which leads me to my point about timeline. There is absolutely no timeline for this. I’m doing this one for fun as I get back my edits from The Book of Isabel. Coincidentally, I just started receiving those a few days ago. So there will probably be a point where I stop writing Naked City stories and focus on draft two of the second novel.

All this to say that I can never really stop writing and with any lucky I may have another book out in 2017.